I should have saved the best until last really, but first up we have *Hydra Veil. I thought this would be amazing as soon as I saw it and felt it. I knew it would be amazing after David Horne explained exactly what it was, how it was developed and what it could do. It was confirmed to be amazing the first time I tried it at home in the morning as part of my usual routine. I can't get enough of this - I may need to request David to start selling a jumbo value tub version.

Hydra Veil is not a primer or a moisturiser, it's an in between sort of prepping product which hydrates the skin making makeup application much smoother and giving a more perfect end result, especially around areas prone to being dry or flakey. It's perfect for oily or combination skin like mine as although I have areas which produce oil-a-plenty, so I avoid any heavy creams and moisturisers, I also get some odd dry patches such as around my nose and lips. Hydra Veil is also great for the under-eye area which can be an issue for most people - our eyes always look more awake and younger when the delicate skin around them is nicely plumped and hydrated.

I had a long chat with David Horne about my skin and he was kind enough to listen to me moaning and gave me lots of tips. One of the things he realised I was getting really wrong for my skin type is that I tend to exfoliate in the morning with a gentle daily facial exfoliating product - he told me that this is making my skin rough and angry in the morning when I'm trying to create a smooth base for makeup - common sense really! I've now relegated my exfoliating to night-time only and wow he was right, it makes a huge difference. One morning I exfoliated accidentally without thinking and really noticed the problems it caused me when I came to put on my makeup.

The first time used Hydra Veil I just put it on my dry areas - my foundation (Esteé Lauder double wear) applied smoothly even in the places where I'm used to it getting patchy or cakey. I knew I was on to a winner so the next day I applied Hydra Veil on my whole face before my makeup and it was simply perfect - I even noticed that my foundation seemed to last longer and looked better at the end of a long day than it does usually. You only need a little scoop of Hydra Veil for your whole face, so I'm hoping the jar will last me between 4 - 6 weeks and I shall definitely be purchasing when I run out.

Hydra Veil is said to be really good with Illamasqua's skin base foundation, especially if skin base doesn't usually work for you. I've owned skin base for a long time, but found it didn't seem to sit right on my skin - it's also a bit of a bad shade match for me - too dark - so I didn't persevere with it so much. I tried using Hydra Veil with skin base and it made application really even so I thought all the problems were fixed. But, by the end of the day I noticed the foundation had clumped in some patches and it had also oxidised on my skin and had gone a bit darker - my skin is extremely oily in places, so I think that's why skin base doesn't work for me, even when I combine it with the wonder that is Hydra Veil.

The other exciting thing about Hydra Veil is it's unique consistency and levelling qualities. Whilst I thought it was just a lot of fun to make it slime and goop around and to swirl it up and then watch it all slither back into a completely smooth tub full again, I'm also geeking out on the science bit. How they make Hydra Veil self-level in the tub no matter how much you try to wreck it I don't know, but it's going to do the same magic trick on your face to even and smooth the surface. Genius.

Next I got to play with one of the *UV nail polishes from the Paranormal collection. This shimmery pink is Ouija. It's a multi-faceted polish, almost like a cross between a muted fine glitter and a subtle shimmer. In natural light it has a slightly pearlescent shine to it - very other worldly! Under a black light - unfortunately I don't have one to demonstrate - the polish glows a white hot pink. Perfect for wearing to a club, theme park (I'm thinking of the spooky rides) or anywhere Hallowe'en related where there's likely to be black light so that you can show this off. If you aren't encountering any black light, it's equally pretty as it is in natural daylight as well as being an excellent quality and hard-wearing polish.

And finally I got to try out Illamasqua's new *gleam highlighter in the shade supernatural. This one confused me a bit as I usually expect my highlighters to be a little bit paler in colour, but hey this is Illamasqua so nothing should surprise me really! I think this would be an amazing highlight on a deep skin tone - on me, as I have dark hair and medium skin, it actually looks perfect as a shimmery blush come bronzer. It's a very buildable cream product - I've swatched it very heavily, but you can also get a much more subtle wash of colour from this too. I think it'll look even better on me once I've gotten around to a bit of fake tanning.

I've ordered the new gel liner from the Paranormal collection and I'm really excited to get my hands on it, so I'll share my thoughts on that as soon as I can.

I tried a big gloop of this in the Beak Street store a week ago, I found it a bit sticky but this may have been because I put such a big amount on the back of my hand - oops! Do you find it sticky or does it feel quite nice on the face? Thanks :-)